Audubon Magazine Search

Corkscrew Ghost Orchids

Rod Wiley

Ghost Orchid ( Dendrophylax lindenii )

Update: July 30, 2015

Corkscrew "Super" Ghost Orchid

Discovered in July 2007, the Corkscrew "Super Ghost" orchid has been in the spotlight each summer since then as it continues to produce many flowers year after year. Drawing attention from near and far as the largest ghost orchid discovered so far. It has delighted us every year since it's discovery with multiple bloomings throughout the summer and sometimes other times of the year. In 2014 it produced over 40 flowers!

In 2015 it surprised us with the first ever bloom in late January and then another bloom in early February! On June 13th it opened up its 1st bloom of the summer and with multiple flowers stayed in bloom until July 24. As of July 30 it has no flowers in full bloom.

There is the possibility that it will bloom again later this summer or fall. Most ghost orchids bloom in the summer.

2015 Ghost Orchid Activity:

Update:

July 30, 2015:No flowers are in bloom on the Super Ghost Orchid. On January 25, 2015, the first flower of the year bloomed. It was a new record for the ghost orchid, blooming in January, the earliest in the year it had bloomed previously was late March of 2010! This first flower lasted almost 2 weeks. Then on February 8th another flower opened, but that one only lasted a couple of days. It's first bloom of summer was on June 13th. Buds continued to open and it stayed in bloom until heavy rains started on July 24th. The Corkscrew "Super Ghost Orchid" typically produces flowers on and off throughout the summer and sometimes at other times of the year, please check back here for further updates.

2015 Activity:

July 25 - no flowers

July 24 - 1 flower

July 20 - 2 flowers

July 13 - 5 flowers

July 12 - 8 flowers

July 10 - 10 flowers

July 6 - 8 flowers

July 1 - 5 flowers, 2 are fading, and one more bud is in the process of opening today!

June 30 - 3 flowers that are starting to fade

June 28 - 3 flowers

June 24 - 4 flowers, 15 buds

June 23 - 3 flowers, 16 buds

June 22 - 2 flowers, 17 buds

June 13 - 1 flower opened up

February 11 - no flowers in bloom

February 8 - 1 new flower opened

February 7 - the first flower has closed

January 25 - 1 flower was discovered in bloom, the earliest known record of a Ghost Orchid blooming!

Once a ghost orchid bud opens into a flower, barring any interferrence, it usually stays in bloom for about 1.5 to 2 weeks, yellowing and eventually shrivelling toward the end. If lucky the flower will be pollinated and produce a seed pod, however this does not happen every year.

We will continue to monitor this orchid's budding and blooming and will post updates here and on our facebook site..

2014 Activity:

On 6/25/14 there were 20 buds spotted on the Corkscrew "Super Ghost". Most of these buds were very small, but by June 27th two of them had bloomed, the rest opened up throughout the early and middle part of July finishing by the end of July. On July 23rd it became apparent that the Super Ghost would bloom again as many new buds were spotted forming on the orchid. These started blooming by August 3rd and the last one faded on August 25th. On October 16 one more bud was discovered, and this opened into a bloom on October 19th. The orchid had two new additional blooms on November 2, and one really late bloom opened on November 24, 2014.

November 24, 1 flower

November 16, 2014 1 bud

November 2, 2014 2 flowers

October 23, 2014 no flowers

October 19, 2014 1 flower

October 16, 2014 1 bud

September 16, 2014 2 flowers

September 14, 2014 1 flower

August 25, 2014 no flowers, 3 seed pods.

August 22, 2014 6 flowers, 3 seed pods.

August 21, 2014 9 flowers, 3 seed pods.

August 17, 2014 9 flowers, 3 seed pods.

August 13, 2014 4 flowers, 5 buds, 3 seed pods.

August 12, 2014 10 flowers, 5 buds, 3 seed pods.

August 9, 2014: 11 flowers, a few are muched on. 5 more buds getting closer to opening. You can also see the 3 seed pods formed from the June/July flowers.

August 6, 2014: 7 flowers, some are munched on.

August 3, 2014: 7 flowers are now open, but something is starting to eat them. A few other buds are close to being ready to bloom.

July 26, 2014: No blooms, but 14+ buds!

July 24, 2014: There are now only 2 fresh looking flowers from the first blooming. RJ Wiley shared his detailed photo which he took yesterday and from that we can tell that it now has at least 14 new buds, most are still fairly small, but one may open soon! The Super Ghost is working on it's second bloom!

July 23, 2014: A couple of blooms but most have shriveled, but 6 new buds are now visible!

July 21, 2014: There are still a few blooms but they are starting to yellow and shrivel up

July 14, 2014: 14 flowers in bloom, some are starting to turn yellow

July 12, 2014: 12 flowers in bloom

July 10, 2014: 14 flowers

July 9, 2014: 13 flowers in full bloom

July 8, 2014: 12 flowers in full bloom

July 6, 2014: 15 flowers in full bloom

July 5, 2014: 15 flowers in full bloom

July 3, 2014: 11 flowers in bloom

July 2, 2014: 8 flowers in full bloom, 1 flower starting to crinkle up and turn yellow

July 1, 2014: Morning: Six flowers in full bloom, later in the day 3 additional flowers had started to open, and the first one that bloomed is starting to fade.

June 30, 2014: Five flowers in full bloom

June 29, 2014: Five flowers in full bloom

June 28, 2014: Three flowers in full bloom

June 27, 2014: Two flowers in full bloom. A few more buds look like they will open sometime this weekend and more sometime next week. We will keep you posted with any further developments.

June 26, 2014: One flower in full bloom.

June 25, 2014: 20 buds, the first of the season.

Additonal smaller Ghost Orchid:

On August 12th, 2012 a visitor found another ghost orchid at Corkscrew, on Landmark Tree #5. It had one flower on it when it was found, but the first flower only lasted until Thursday, August 16th. Later there was another flower open until the first week of October last year. There were no buds or flower in 2013.

2014 Activity:

July 26, 2014: The flower is starting to fade, this one lasted about 3.5 weeks!

July 23, 2014: One flower is still in bloom

July 17, 2014: One flower in full bloom

July 9, 2014: One flower in full bloom

July 6, 2014: One flower in full bloom

July3, 2014: The flower opened up this morning on the small ghost orchid!

July 2, 2014: The bud is large now and looks like it may bloom in the next day or two!

July 1, 2014: One bud still, it is getting larger and has a longer nectar spur than last week

June 27, 2014: There is still one bud on this orchid, it has grown a little larger and is starting to develop it's nectar spur. The flower has not opened yet, but may by sometime next week. We will continue to monitor this orchid and post updates here and on our facebook site.

June 16 2014: One tiny bud was spotted on this orchid.

If you plan to visit Corkscrew to see the ghost orchids, please bring binoculars as both are about 50 feet high in old growth bald cypress trees. The "Super Ghost" is about 100 feet away from the boardwalk, the smaller ghost orchid is about 40 feet from the boardwalk. They can both be seen clearly from the boardwalk using either binoculars or a spotting scope. There are signs on the boardwalk rails identifying their locations.

To see the "Super Ghost", you have to walk just under a mile to almost the furthest point of the boardwalk, near interpretive sign number 7. There is a small sign on the rail there to help you locate the orchid.

The smaller ghost orchid is just beyond the Super Ghost, and just past the Overlook Platform spur trail, on the Royal Palm spur of the boardwalk, it is in Landmark Tree #5. Walk to the end of the Royal Palm spur trail and look about 50 feet up in the cypress tree that is on the left side of the royal palm tree. The orchid is on the left side of the main trunk of the tree. There is a small sign there with a photo to help you locate the orchid.

This site will be updated on a regular basis. Please check back here for updates.